Teh One Who Knocks
05-03-2022, 10:59 AM
Jeff Goldman, nj.com
https://i.imgur.com/krbCCZ8.jpg
A five-minute video that shows Trenton’s health officer in her underwear receiving a massage in a conference room in front of other employees, according to a councilwoman, has triggered an investigation by the city and is being reviewed by the prosecutor’s office.
A since-deleted Instagram video forwarded to NJ Advance Media shows Yvette Graffie-Cooper wearing only a bra and panties as a woman uses a massage device to treat the health officer’s shoulders, arms, back, legs and stomach for cellulite reduction.
The video was recorded in a second-floor conference room at the city department of health and human services on North Broad Street, according to city councilwoman Robin Vaughn. Vaughn did not know when the video was taken, however, a date on the screen recording shows Feb. 24.
In the video, Graffie-Cooper is wearing a bra and shorts while the masseuse uses an electronic wand on her neck and shoulders. At other points in the video, Graffie-Cooper is wearing only her bra and underwear and is seen laying on her back on a massage table while employees, sitting at a conference table, watch.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the masseuse — whose services include body sculpting and cavitation, or cellulite reduction, according to her Facebook page — was paid or who hired her. In other videos posted on the business’ social media account, customers are seen in their underwear getting this treatment.
Graffie-Cooper has been employed by the city for 19 years and declined to comment when reached by NJ Advance Media on Friday.
“As soon as the city became aware of the video, the (health) director (Dr. Adela Ames-Lopez) began an administrative investigation,” Tim Carroll wrote in an emailed statement said. “As this is a personnel matter, the city reserves comment at this time.”
Vaughn said the video surfaced on social media last week and was forwarded to her by a constituent. Vaughn said she reported the video to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the state Office of the Attorney General and the state Division of Consumer Affairs. She also alerted other members of council as well as Mayor Reed Gusciora. The mayor has not replied to her, Vaughn added.
“My concern is that it took place in a government building during business hours,” Vaughn told NJ Advance Media. “The company was providing services not vetted by the government — it puts employees at risk. There’s a whole level of issues along with civil rights violations potentially. You have employees sitting there — her subordinates. Were they forced to sit there or even if they weren’t did they raise an issue? Were they retaliated against? These are all things that need to be asked to the administration.”
In a letter she sent to state Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin on Wednesday, Vaughn wrote “I demand that you act expeditiously to address that illicit and immoral behavior displayed on that video by a state-licensed municipal health official in front of her employees.”
The Mercer County-based massage therapist on the video told NJ Advance Media she treated Graffie-Cooper only one time at the building but declined to say when.
A spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said they are aware of the video and “are reviewing the councilwoman’s allegations.”
The state Office of the Attorney General didn’t respond to NJ Advance Media’s request for comment.
https://i.imgur.com/krbCCZ8.jpg
A five-minute video that shows Trenton’s health officer in her underwear receiving a massage in a conference room in front of other employees, according to a councilwoman, has triggered an investigation by the city and is being reviewed by the prosecutor’s office.
A since-deleted Instagram video forwarded to NJ Advance Media shows Yvette Graffie-Cooper wearing only a bra and panties as a woman uses a massage device to treat the health officer’s shoulders, arms, back, legs and stomach for cellulite reduction.
The video was recorded in a second-floor conference room at the city department of health and human services on North Broad Street, according to city councilwoman Robin Vaughn. Vaughn did not know when the video was taken, however, a date on the screen recording shows Feb. 24.
In the video, Graffie-Cooper is wearing a bra and shorts while the masseuse uses an electronic wand on her neck and shoulders. At other points in the video, Graffie-Cooper is wearing only her bra and underwear and is seen laying on her back on a massage table while employees, sitting at a conference table, watch.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the masseuse — whose services include body sculpting and cavitation, or cellulite reduction, according to her Facebook page — was paid or who hired her. In other videos posted on the business’ social media account, customers are seen in their underwear getting this treatment.
Graffie-Cooper has been employed by the city for 19 years and declined to comment when reached by NJ Advance Media on Friday.
“As soon as the city became aware of the video, the (health) director (Dr. Adela Ames-Lopez) began an administrative investigation,” Tim Carroll wrote in an emailed statement said. “As this is a personnel matter, the city reserves comment at this time.”
Vaughn said the video surfaced on social media last week and was forwarded to her by a constituent. Vaughn said she reported the video to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the state Office of the Attorney General and the state Division of Consumer Affairs. She also alerted other members of council as well as Mayor Reed Gusciora. The mayor has not replied to her, Vaughn added.
“My concern is that it took place in a government building during business hours,” Vaughn told NJ Advance Media. “The company was providing services not vetted by the government — it puts employees at risk. There’s a whole level of issues along with civil rights violations potentially. You have employees sitting there — her subordinates. Were they forced to sit there or even if they weren’t did they raise an issue? Were they retaliated against? These are all things that need to be asked to the administration.”
In a letter she sent to state Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin on Wednesday, Vaughn wrote “I demand that you act expeditiously to address that illicit and immoral behavior displayed on that video by a state-licensed municipal health official in front of her employees.”
The Mercer County-based massage therapist on the video told NJ Advance Media she treated Graffie-Cooper only one time at the building but declined to say when.
A spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said they are aware of the video and “are reviewing the councilwoman’s allegations.”
The state Office of the Attorney General didn’t respond to NJ Advance Media’s request for comment.